Councillor Pat McFall will serve as the Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for the Civic Year 2018/19, with Councillor Jim Shorrock as Deputy Mayor.

Pat was first elected to the Council in 2002 and represents Little Harwood & Whitebirk ward. Pat was Chair of the Children’s Centre for a long time and is non-voting member of the Community Centre Management Board.

Since being elected, Pat has been a Lead Member for Children’s Services, initially Schools and Education since 2005, for Early Years and more recently her current responsibilities are to oversee the looking after of disabled children within the borough.

Pat is Chair of the Strategic Domestic Abuse Group and works in partnership with other agencies to tackle domestic abuse.

She has four children and seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Her Mayoresses will be her daughters Lucie Higham and Rona McFall.

A passionate supporter of charities tackling domestic abuse and issues affecting children and young people, Pat has chosen six Mayoral charities. They are:

Blackburn and District Without Abuse (BDDWA) – supports women, men and children who are affected by domestic violence or domestic abuse.

Changing Lives – supports women, men and children who are affected by domestic violence or domestic abuse in the Borough.

Humraaz – Humraaz Support Services provides confidential specialist support to Black and Minority Ethnic women who are experiencing domestic abuse and all forms of Harmful Traditional Practices.

Derian House Children’s Hospice – provides palliative, specialist respite and end of life care for children and young adults.

Nightsafe – a Blackburn based homeless charity providing holistic services to homeless young people aged 16 to 24.

Cherished Gowns – Cherished Gowns UK provide the families of babies that are stillborn, miscarried or pass away shortly after birth, with items of clothing that they are able to be dressed in for their funeral.

Pat said:

It is an honour to serve as Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and I am looking forward to the year ahead and raising vital funds for some very important charities.”

Councillor Jim Shorrock will serve as Deputy Mayor. Before becoming a Councillor Jim worked at G.E.C. Engineering in Clayton-le-Moors, before joining the R.A.F. in 1979, serving six years as a Steward working in Officers and Senior N.C.O’s Messes, and on V.I.P. and Royal Functions.

Jim then pursued a career running several pubs in the borough, including The Horseshoe in Darwen and The Globe Inn and The Courts Hotel. Jim served as Treasurer and Chair of Daniel Thwaites Tenants Association in the mid 1990’s. He then Jim then took up a new career with ISS Facility Services Ltd, most recently as Retail High Street Training Manager in the Financial and Retail Sector of ISS.

In 2004, Jim was elected to the council, representing Shadsworth with Whitebirk Ward, and more recently Blackburn Southeast, for the Labour Party, holding several positions including Chair of Policy and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee for most of that time. He also serves as a School Governor for both Shadsworth Infants and Junior Schools.

2012 saw Jim achieving the title of Fellow of the British Institute of Innkeeping, recognising his many years in the Licensed Trade. His interests include caravanning, gardening, motorcycling, photography and cooking and entertaining friends and family.

Jim is looking forward to his Deputy Mayoral year, and has chosen Mark Joyce as Mayoral Consort and Linda Mahon as Deputy Mayoress.